Balto:How the Mighty Fall
by AstonMartinLover
Summary: Another Alaskan hero comes to Nome. However because of his rough history with wolves, he despises Balto. Crappy description. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

**Balto: How the Mighty Fall**

Balto: Kevin Bacon

Silver: Sean Bean

Jenna: Bridget Fonda

Boris: Bob Hoskins

Maria: Julia Roberts

Nikki: Jack Angel

Kaltag: Danny Mann

Star: Robbie Rist

Dixie: Sandra Dickinson

Sylvie: Sandra Dickinson

Doc: Patrick Stewart

Two sled teams raced through the Alaskan wilderness. There sleds slid over the snow with a light hiss. The musher's yelled encouragement to the dogs.

"Come on Balto you can do it! Mush!"

The brown and tan wolf dog at the lead position of the team smiled.

"Hey Balto! My mother could run faster than that!" The lead dog on the other team yelled. Balto grinned.

"You want me to go fast?!" He yelled back. He looked at the dog behind him.

"Star should I go fast?!"

Star grinned and nodded.

"Okay! Don't say I didn't warn you!" Balto suddenly let it all loose. He was in a safe lead within seconds.

The opposing sled dog let out a gasp of surprise. Balto smiled again.

"Star, can you handle it?!" He looked back at the other dog.

Star panted. "B-b-barely!"

He heard the flare gun. "Three miles boy's!"

They entered the town. On either side of them people cheered. Balto howled in glee. Considering that three months ago, he was watching from the sidelines, and being cursed at by humans, he was doing pretty well for himself.

After the one mile warning, there was no stopping them.

Balto's team crossed the finish line In first.

He got the harness off only to get dog piled by his teammates.

"Okay guy's, I can't breathe! You don't want to kill me right after our race right?"

The dog's got off him.

"That was the fastest, the quickest, the speediest…"

"That was good!" Star interrupted. Kaltag shot him a warning look.

The other sled team wasn't so ecstatic. The musher was furious."Look, shouldn't there be something against half wolves running on a team?!"

Balto ears flattened. Not all human's had accepted him, even after the serum run.

The lead dog on the other team was angry too.

"Hey he's got a point! Why do we have half breed scum running in a dog's game?"

"What did youse say?" Nikki snarled.

"You heard me. Balto's got those huge wolf ears don't he?"

Balto growled and took a step forward. Kaltag and Star held him.

"Easy Balto, he's not worth it."

The other dog backed off. "Need your friends to hold you back wolfie?"

Suddenly Nikki charged. He pinned the dog to the ground.

"C'mon Balto! Hit him!"

Balto shook his head. "Like they said, he's not worth it."

Nikki sighed. "Okay." He let the dog go. "And if you don't watch your mouth youse be answering to me!"

The dog padded away.

A red and white husky padded through the crowd to meet Balto.

"Hi Jenna. Hope you enjoyed the race. I'm not racing another one."The three dogs moaned in protest.

"C'mon Balto, this was your first time!" Kaltag protested.

"Yeah youse looked like youse was having fun out dere!" Nikki added.

Jenna smiled. "It looks like the guy's don't want you to quit."

"Yeah well…as much as I hate to admit it, that dog has a point. This is a dog's sport. I present an unfair advantage."

"Oh c'mon Balto, that dog's a dumbass!"

"But he's right!" Balto sighed. "Just give me some time to think about it."

Balto and Jenna padded away. "You aren't going to have much time to think."

Balto looked startled. "Why?"

"Didn't you hear? The other hero of Alaska is coming to Nome."

"What other hero of Alaska?"

"Silver. It's been all over the radio."

"Silver? He's coming to Nome?"

Silver was a malamute who had been considered the hero of Alaska before Balto had brought the medicine to Nome. He had been a guard dog in Juneau two years before, and had won a medal.

"He's coming to Nome?"

Jenna nodded. "More precisely he is staying at our house."

Balto put on a dumbfounded expression. "I'm sorry what?"

Jenna chuckled. "The two heroes of Nome under the same roof."

"Well when are they coming?"

"Any minute now."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Balto asked irritated.

"Well you seemed so distracted this last week, I didn't want to worry you."

"Well we better get home then. I don't want to be late. How do I look?"

Jenna laughed. "Like a freaked out hero. Let's go."

When they got to the house the guests had already arrived.

Balto was nervous.

"Uhh, you go in first." He gestured to the door.

Jenna chuckled. "C'mon Balto, I don't think he bites."

Jenna pushed open the door. Two dog's were lying next to their human.

One of them raised his head. "Well hello Madame." He had a strong british accent. "I assume this is your home?"

"Why yes it is." Jenna noticed the dog had a jagged scar down the side of his face.

"And you are Silver?" She asked.

The other dog nodded. "And you must be Jenna. I assumed your mate would be with you. I want to meet the dog who I share the Alaskan hero job with.""Oh he's here." Jenna turned. "Balto, you can come in now!"

She turned to Silver. "He's a bit nervous."

Silver chuckled. "Likewise."

Balto padded into the room. Before he realized what was going on Silver pounced on him, and bit him in the shoulder. Balto yelped in pain.

His human stood up. "Silver! Get off of him!"

Silver pinned him to the ground and turned to Jenna.

"It seems you have a little wolf problem!" He snarled.

The other dog pulled Silver off of Balto. "Silver! What are you doing?"

Balto turned angrily to Jenna. "He won't bite, huh?!"

Silver had a look of anger on his face. "What is that wolf doing in this house!"

"Silver, that's Balto!"

Silver paused, looking confused. "Balto is a wolf."

"Half." Balto corrected.

Silver calmed down. "My apologies Balto." He said with no sense of apology in his voice.

Balto rubbed his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"You look a hell of a lot like a wolf."

"As I said, I'm half wolf. Is that going to be a problem?"

Silver thought for a moment. "Of course not. I apologize."

Silver beckoned the other dog. "This is my mate, Maria."

They introduced each other. Then Balto excused himself.

"I have a wound to wash." He said.

Jenna stared awkwardly at Silver. "Well why don't we go out this evening?

There's an old mill where all the dogs in Nome gather."

Silver nodded. He was in a bad mood. The expression on his face seemed to make the scar look even worse.

Jenna sighed. It was going to be a rough evening.


	2. Chapter 2

**Balto: How the Mighty Fall(part 2)**

The four dog's went to the old mill that evening.

Jenna gestured to the door. "This is the biggest social area in Nome."Silver shuddered. "This look's like a dump." Maria shot him a glare.

His expression softened.

"Well, we aren't the richest city in Alaska." Balto said.

Inside they were welcomed by a large St. Bernard.

"And this is Doc."

Doc looked excited. "Good to meet you at last, Mr. Silver!"

The four sat in the edge of the room. Silver still seemed angry.

"So what brings you to Nome?" Jenna asked.

Maria answered. "Well Silver wanted to meet the other hero of Alaska."

Balto nodded. "Well you met me. And it was one painful meeting."

Jenna slammed her paw on his paw. He got the message.

"So, tell me about yourself."

Silver who seemed to be deep in thought, snapped back into reality.

"Oh. I was born in a kennel in Juneau, Alaska. My father was a sled dog.

When I was a pup, I saw my parent's murdered."

He glared at Balto. "They were killed by wolves."

"I'm sorry." Jenna said.

"Well then I started the career that made me a hero." He glanced at Balto again. "I assisted humans in the hunting of…wolves. They gave me this."

He gestured to the horrific scar on the side of his face. All the time he talked, he didn't take his eyes off Balto.

"They terrorized our town. They murdered dogs, humans." He chuckled. "Even other wolves. That was our advantage. They would gang up to fight us, then kill each other. Like barbarians."

Jenna noticed that Balto's claws were scratching the floor. Silver was getting to him.

"I respectfully disagree." He said. He was trying hard to keep his anger down.

"Do you? You would have taken their side?" Balto could see that Silver was just as angry as he was. This might come to blows if they didn't stop. Maria came to the rescue.

"Maybe we should go back to the house." She said.

Silver shook his head. "No, no. We need to get to know each other."

He growled on the 'know'. He was ready to come to blows.

"You know how many of those bastards I killed?" He grinned. "One hundred and fifty. And I have no regret's."

Balto slammed his paw on the floor. It was loud enough to cause everyone in the room to look at him.

"Maybe we should go back home." He growled.

Silver grinned. "Well I guess we should go."

The four padded out of the old mill. Balto was steaming. He had never let his anger get the best of him, like that in a long time. It was like Silver wanted to

draw him into a fight.

When they arrived Balto immediately went upstairs. Jenna sighed, then followed him.

"What was that?" Jenna asked.

"What was what?" Balto replied, unable to keep the anger out of his voice.

"You were a bit rude to our guest."

"He started it." Balto replied.

Jenna chuckled. "Do all heroes act like children nowadays?"

Balto smashed his paw into the wall. He had made a crack.

Jenna gasped. "Balto, I've never seen you this angry."

Balto sighed. "He hates me. He hates me Jenna, and all because I'm fifty percent wolf."

Jenna padded up next to him. "I'm sure it will pass."

Balto shook his head. "No it won't. He's considered a hero because he hunted wolves. You can't just get rid of that grudge."

Jenna smiled. "You're a nice dog. I'm sure you could get him to like you."

Balto headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Jenna asked.

"To see Boris." Balto padded down the stairs.

"You're not going to stay at the boat tonight. Are you?"

Balto nodded.

"So you're just going to leave me here with a rude guest?"

Balto smiled. "You know I love you Jenna. It's just that I don't want to be strangled to death in my sleep. Plus I'll just be a disturbance for our guest."

Jenna nodded. "Okay."

Balto padded out in the direction of the boat.

Jenna padded into the guests room. They're human was out with Rosy and her parents at some fancy restaurant.

Maria looked concerned. "Where's Balto?"

Jenna sighed. "He's staying at a friend's for tonight. He didn't want to be a distraction."

Maria looked angry. She turned to Silver. "Look what you did! You just had to hurt him didn't you?"

Silver shrugged. "He lost his temper. It's not my fault." He padded out of the room.

Maria turned to Jenna. "I'm so sorry about tonight. I don't know what came over him."

Jenna shook her head. "No. Theirs no need to apologize. We're the host. We should keep the lid on our anger."

"I hope he isn't too badly hurt."

"Oh, he'll get over it in a couple hours."

Balto padded up the ramp, and onto the boat. Boris waddled up to him.

"So, how is it having fellow hero in home?"

Balto sighed. "Painful."

Boris noticed the bite mark on his shoulder. "Vhat did zat to you?"

"That would be the other hero of Alaska." Boris gasped.

"Vhy? You can't just bite a fellow hero on za shoulder!"

"Please Boris. You know I don't like being called 'hero'. Especially after tonight."

Boris sighed. "Okay boychik. Just tell Uncle Boris vhy he did zis to you."

"He has a lifelong grudge against wolves."

"Oy. Zat could be trouble."

"I was wondering if I could stay here tonight?"

"Balto, I told you I vould not leave until you could stand on all four legs, and I meant it. Zis is your home too."

Balto smiled. "Thanks Boris."

"Anytime boychik." Boris waddled away.

Back at the house Jenna was looking out the window. Silver padded up next to her.

"I deeply apologize about tonight. I just have seen wolves as the enemy for so long. It will take a while to adjust."

Jenna nodded. "I'm sure Balto would accept your apology."

Silver stared at her. "You really love him don't you."

Jenna nodded.

"I'm gonna bring him back."

"What?" Before Jenna could stop him, he was running out into the snow.

She groaned. "This is going to get ugly."

Balto had dozed off on the deck of the boat. Suddenly he woke with a start. He had picked up a scent.

"What? How is he here?"

He heard a grunt behind him. "Vhat vas that boychik?"

"Silver is here. He followed me."

Suddenly he heard the sound of paws tapping wood.

"Silver?" He called. No reply.

Suddenly a pair of eyes appeared in the darkness. "Balto."

Silver padded towards him from the shadow's.

"You're mate wants you."

Balto was startled. "What?"

"Jenna wants you. All wolves seem to have trouble hearing."

"Shut up!" Balto snarled.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh please let's not go through that again."

Suddenly he jumped on Balto pinning him to the ground. "I would have no problem ripping you to shreds, and sprinkling the pieces all over the Alaskan coastline! So you come home or I'll do just that!"

"What's wrong with you!" Balto yelled.

Silver head butted him. Balto went unconscious.

"Always works on wolves." He dragged Balto's limp body off the boat.

Noticing Boris for the first time, he growled. "If a word of this comes out, your goose is cooked!"

Boris nodded, petrified with fear.

He dragged Balto back to the house, put on a face of concern, then padded in.

Jenna padded over him. "Oh god! Balto!"

Silver dropped his limp body on the floor. "Found the poor wolf dog in the snow. Passed out from exhaustion."


	3. Chapter 3

**Balto: How the Mighty Fall(part 3)**

Balto woke up the next morning with a bad pain in his head. There was another sled dog race today. He hadn't given much thought to whether to stay or not, but he wanted to be away from Silver. Suddenly he remembered the night before.

He padded downstairs. Rosy was waiting for him.

"Hi boy!" She hugged tightly. He tried not to howl in pain as she unknowingly put pressure on his injured arm. He barked happily.

Then he padded over to Jenna.

"Where's Silver?" "He went out. He saved your life last night, you know."

Balto coughed. "What?! He tried to kill me last night!"

Jenna gasped. "Really?"

"He hit me in the head. I was on the boat. I think he tracked me."

Jenna was shocked. "Why would he do this?"

"I don't know. Where did he go?" Balto asked.

"He said he was going to meet an old acquaintance."

Balto sighed. "Well I've got a sled race in thirty minutes. I've got to go."

Balto gave her a quick kiss, then sprinted out the door.

Far away in a warehouse a bunch of wolves were discussing business.

"What the hell are we doing in Nome anyway? It's boring here."

"Want it to get interesting?" The voice came from the warehouse entrance.

The wolves got into defensive positions. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

A silver malamute padded out of the shadows. He had a jagged scar on the side of his face."Ah. Silver. Long time no see old friend. Boy's? Kindly teach our friend what happens when you don't knock."

The other wolves pounced on Silver. He was pinned to the floor."I have a business proposal for you!" He yelled as they held him in place.

"Stop!" The wolf commanded. The other wolves released him. "Speak."

Silver grinned. "Do you know who Balto is?"

The wolf nodded. "Who hasn't? You want him dead?"

"How did you know?" Silver said addressing the wolf like an old friend.

"I want to teach him some manners first though."

The wolf grinned. "So you want him alive?"

"Yes.""And what is our payment?"

Silver smiled. "Free rein of the town."

The wolf's eyes widened. "No tricks?"

"No tricks."

"All right. We take him when?"

"Right now."

"What?"

"He's in a sled dog race. You will take him."

The wolf sniggered. "As you wish."

Balto and his team were winning. They had lost sight of the opposing team. Balto howled. The sled racing had allowed him to forget about the trouble with Silver.

Suddenly he saw something. There was a pack of wolves in their path.

The pack wasn't moving. They were playing a game of chicken.

"We got trouble!" He yelled to Star.

"Turn!" The sled turned to avoid the wolves. Balto saw one of the wolves grin. The sled crashed into an embankment.

The musher was thrown off. He was knocked unconscious. The sled rolled and came to a stop. The entire sled team was unconscious. Balto had taken the brunt of the damage. He was lying bloody, and bruised at the front of the sled.

The wolf padded over to him grinning widely. "Chicken."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Balto: How the Mighty Fall(part 4)**_

_Balto awoke in a dark room. He was aching all over from the sled crash._

_He realized that his paws were tied to the ceiling. He was strung up._

_He tried to call out but he was too weak. He examined his surroundings._

_He was in an old dark large building. It appeared to be an abandoned warehouse._

_He heard a padding sound. "H-hello?"_

"_Ah Balto, so glad you could join me." He recognized the british accent._

"_Silver?" He breathed a sigh of relief. "Silver, get me down from here."_

_Silver chuckled. "You are a gullible one Balto. So easy to fool."_

_Silver suddenly punched Balto in the stomach, knocking the wind out of his lungs._

"_W-w-why?" Balto asked weakly._

"_Hilarious question. Why."_

_Balto coughed up some blood. "Are you going to answer me or give me smooth talk?"_

_Silver lashed out, this time hitting Balto in the face. He calmed down._

"_You know, you wolves used to bring innocent dogs to warehouses just like this one. They would be strung up and tortured by the wolves for entertainment."_

_He hit Balto again._

"_My son was one of the dogs that they tortured." He snarled._

_He hit again._

"_But I had raised my son to be strong. No matter what they did he refused to beg for mercy. It is what they love. Being able to bring dog's to their knees from the pain. I should know. My torture had been to watch."A tear came to Silver's eye. "He died from the pain. They released me, believing that watching my beloved son die was punishment enough. But I came back! I killed every last miserable little wolf I found!"_

_The tears seemed not only to be for his son. "I even killed…a wolf pup."_

_He turned to Balto and struck him in the face. He was filled with both sadness and rage._

"_So don't think for a second that I'll hesitate killing you. If I could kill a pup without hesitation, I won't think twice about killing you!"_

"_Silver! I'm sorry your son was killed by wolves, but I swear I had nothing to do with it!" Balto sobbed from the pain. "I would never do something like that!"_

_Balto stared at the merciless eyes. He had once idolized this dog. Now the dog was going to kill him over nothing._

"_You are just a foolish little outcast who managed to get lucky. You aren't a hero. I'll be doing the people of Nome a favor getting rid of you."_

_Balto coughed up more blood. "What does that make you? Here you are torturing someone who did nothing! Who will history record as the better of us? I promise you that if our lives were switched, I would not be doing the same to you."_

_Silver grinned. "That's your problem. The world has no place for heroes who have badly placed ideals. They have places for people willing to do what is necessary."_

"_This isn't necessary! This is murder!"_

"_No Balto. These old friends of mine will do the killing." He gestured to the shadows. Several wolves appeared. _

_"You said you hated wolves!" Balto snarled._

"_I do. However we have a common hate. I hate you because you're wolf. They hate you because you're dog. It's all well balanced."_

_Balto wriggled, trying to break free of the ropes._

"_Boys? Make him regret that he was ever born."The wolves padded towards him._

"_Silver you're making a mistake!" Balto pleaded._

"_Goodbye Balto! It's been a bloody good education!"_

_The wolves began hitting Balto. They were merciless. Balto tried not to yelp. But he failed. The pain was to great. He thought of Jenna, Rosy, Boris, Muk and Luk. He would die and they would never know what happened to him._

_He fell out of consciousness._

_Jenna heard a faint scratching on the door. She opened it. It was Doc._

"_Jenna, there's been an accident. Balto was involved in a sled crash. His entire team was knocked unconscious."_

_Jenna gasped. "Where is he? Can I see him?"_

_Doc sighed heavily. "He is…missing.""What?" _

"_He wasn't with the rest of the team. The other's are fine. However we haven't found Balto yet. We have search dogs looking for him."_

_Jenna broke down sobbing. Suddenly a thought came to his head._

"_Where's Silver?"_

_Doc was startled by the question. "What does that have to do with the situation?"_

"_I think he may have something to do with this."Suddenly she heard a sniffing. She turned. Maria was sitting there, tears in her eyes._

"_Oh Maria, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to hear that."_

"_I believe you." Maria said, blinking back the tears. "He hates wolves so much. I thought he would go too far one day." She broke down sobbing._

"_I never did anything about it."Suddenly the door opened again. Kaltag padded into the house. _

"_Have you seen Balto?" He asked. Jenna noticed the large bruise on the side of his face. He had been involved in the sled crash as well._

"_No. But I think we should find Silver. He may know something about it."_

_Kaltag growled. "Wait till I get my hands on him!"_

"_Please don't hurt him!" Maria pleaded._

"_I'll try." Kaltag said, not sounding very convincing._

_He sprinted out the door._

_Silver padded through the town. He was a little unsure of what he had just done. He shrugged the idea off. Hesitation was a sign of weakness._

_Suddenly a dog padded up next to him. "Your name Silver?"_

_Silver nodded. The dog punched him in the face, then pinned him to the ground._

"_Where is Balto!" Kaltag snarled._

"_What are you going to do? Kill me? I'm a bloody hero, asshole!"_

_Kaltag's paws closed around Silver's throat. "I will rip you into pieces."Kaltag started choking him. He gasped for breath._

"_Okay, okay." He said weakly._

_Kaltag released him. "He's in that warehouse." He pointed at the old warehouse._

"_If you're lying, I don't care if you're who you are. I'll hunt you down, and kill you."_

_Silver padded off._

_Balto was trying his best to hold on. He had been mercifully given a break from the wolves torture. He was drifting in and out of consciousness._

_The wolves grinned. "Ready to play again half and half?"_

_They advanced on him. Suddenly the door slammed open. Kaltag sprinted into the building. He jumped in between them and Balto. One of them pounced. Kaltag fought him off. Then one by one they attacked. Kaltag drove away every attack._

_The wolves retreated. Kaltag cut Balto down."Hey buddy, you okay?" He asked, looking concerned._

_Balto grinned weakly. "What…took you…so…long?" _

_He passed out._


	5. Chapter 5

**Balto: How the Mighty Fall(part 5)**

Balto awoke to familiar surroundings. He was in Jenna's house. He was gripped with pain. He looked at himself. He had scars all over him. Areas that had been stitched up.

"Anybody home!" He called. Jenna padded up to the room. "Good to see that you're awake.""How long have I been out?" Balto asked, as he stretched. Jenna shuddered.

"What is it?" Balto asked. He looked on his back. It was covered with wounds."You've been out for a week." Jenna said, still looking at the wounds. "They really did a number on you.""It was Silver." Balto winced as he got up. "He hired wolves to cause the crash. Then he brought me to that warehouse. Where is he?"

"He's gone. We could have caught him by now but, very few people in the town know about this. We've had to keep a lid on it."

"What? Why? That guy strung me up and nearly tortured me to death!"

Jenna sighed. "I know. But you have to understand that if everyone finds out about this it'll do more harm than good. He's a hero Balto. We can't just announce that he's a murderer."

Balto headed for the door. Jenna stepped in the way. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to catch him."Jenna shook her head. "You have to allow those wounds to heal. Doc says you have to stay in bed."Balto sighed heavily. "And if Silver comes?"

"He hasn't come in the past week. Why would he come now?"

"I wouldn't put it past him."

"Just get some sleep Balto. I hate seeing you like this."

"Okay. But if he comes, give me a heads up."

Jenna nodded. "Of course."

Balto crawled painfully back into bed, and fell asleep almost immediately.

Jenna padded downstairs. Maria was in the family room.

"How is he?" Maria asked.

"What? Oh. Oh he's fine. Just a bit of pain."

"I'm so sorry for all of this. Silver means well, it's just…" She paused.

"Just what?" Jenna asked, curiously.

"He…well…he's kind of…messed up in the head."

"We don't intend to kill him. Just…catch him."

Maria nodded. "He can be a completely different person sometimes. I think that seeing someone who looks like a wolf, being called a hero, just made him lose it." Maria sighed. "When you catch him, we'll be leaving Nome. We don't want to cause any more trouble."

Silver padded into the old mill. He knew that the protection around Balto was too great. He would need help.

He had cut his own shoulder open. It would provide the perfect cover.

He entered moaning in pain. Everyone in the mill stared at him.

"Silver! What happened?" One of the dogs asked.

Silver sighed deeply. "I got attacked. By Balto."

The other dog's gasped in disbelief. Doc padded forward. "What?"

"Balto bloody attacked me!"Doc wasn't convinced. "Do you have any proof?"

He showed Doc his shoulder. "He did this to me!" There was wolf scent all over the wound.

For all the other dog's in the room this was damning evidence.

Dixie stood up. "I always knew that dog was trouble!"

Silver stood in the center of the room. "I say we go to the wolf dogs house and make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else. Who's with me?"

Several of the dog's padded up to him. "We're with you Silver.""All right! Take no prisoners!" The dog's stormed out of the old mill. Doc sighed. "Better warn them." He sprinted off.

Jenna and Maria sat in the living room. Their humans were off on a hunting trip.

Suddenly Maria's ears perked up. "Did you hear that?"

Jenna got up with a start. "What?"

"It sounds like an army." She went to the window. "Oh please no. Silver."

Jenna looked. She gasped. There was in fact an army advancing on their home. Silver was at the lead, grinning proudly. His scar looked worse than ever.

"Oh shit!" Maria exclaimed. "You go take care of Balto. I'll stall him."

Jenna nodded, then sprinted upstairs. Balto was lying awake.

"I just heard an 'oh shit.' Does that mean I should be worried?"

Jenna was panicked. She was about to be invaded by a revenge crazed dog who wanted to kill her mate for no apparent reason. There was a lot to panic about.

"Don't worry." She said, trying to reassure Balto. Suddenly there was a crash on the door. Balto got out of bed. "I've got to go!" He started for the window.

"Balto, stay! Your not in good physical condition. You wouldn't make it a mile."

She stepped in his way. "Maria will take care of him."

Downstairs Maria was trying to hold the door.

"Open the bloody door Maria!" Silver shouted.

Suddenly the door came crashing down. Maria was thrown back into the wall. She went limp. Silver padded into the room. "Check her!" He commanded.

One of the dog's checked her pulse. "She's alive. Just unconscious.""Good. Let's get on with it then!" The group started searching the house.

"He's upstairs! Probably hiding under his bloody bed!"

The mob tramped up the stairs.

Jenna and Balto were rigid with terror. Balto eyed the window.

"Are you sure I can't make it?" He asked shakily.

"Balto, I'm sure we can reason with him." Jenna said as calmly as she could.

Balto chuckled nervously. "You don't know him very well then."

Silver entered the room. He grinned when he saw his prey. "Hello Clarice!"

Jenna put herself between Silver and Balto. "Please, just leave us alone!" She begged.

"Move out of the way." Silver snarled. "I don't want to hurt you." He pointed at Balto. "We're here for him, not you."

"I won't let you hurt him!" She cried.

"Touching." Silver was amused. "Take her! Kill him!" The other dog's advanced. One of them latched onto Jenna's bandana.

"Run Balto!" She cried before being dragged away.

Balto got up and smashed through the window. He fell to the street and lay still. Silver sniggered. "Idiot."

He turned away. "Our job is…"

Suddenly Balto got up. He headed for the town.

"Get him! He's escaped into town! He may kill innocents!"

The other dogs growled in approval. "What about them?" One dog asked.

He gestured to Maria and Jenna.

"Lock them up in the old mill. You can let them out once it's over."

He and a large group of dog's headed into town.

Balto sprinted through alleyway, heading for the boat. Silver had even gotten the town against him. Now he had very few places to turn.

He heard paw steps. He looked. Silver had tracked him. He grinned when he saw him.

Balto looked for somewhere to run. When he turned there was another group of dogs. He was cornered. He looked desperately for a way out.

"Looks like the end of the road wolf dog." Silver sneered.

Balto noticed a possibility. There were oil pipelines all over Nome. One of said pipelines was right in front of him.

There was a narrow maintenance opening. Silver followed his eyes to it.

"Get him! Get him now!"

But it was too late. Balto crawled into the oil pipe. He slid through it away from the dogs.

He was lucky he didn't have claustrophobia. The pipe allowed no light in, and was cramped. He slid for what seemed like hours. Suddenly he stopped.

He was stuck. "Shit!" He exclaimed.

He was trapped in the pipeline. Suddenly he heard a clanking sound.

He had forgotten to think about one thing before crawling into the oil pipeline.

It pumped oil.

He saw the black liquid coming down the pipe. He screamed.

The oil freed him from his position. Now he was drowning in it. He saw maintenance hatches fly by. He tried breathing, but the oil went in his mouth.

His paw managed to grab hold of a hatch lever. He pulled with all his might. It opened.

He was thrown into the air. He hit the ground with a thud. A geyser of oil was coming out of the pipe.

He coughed up more oil. Despite everything, he howled in delight. He was alive. He had escaped again.

Suddenly he felt something clamp him around the neck. He turned to see a human. The human dragged him into the street. He noticed the human was taking him to a van. It had words on the side.

DOG POUND.

Balto cursed. Luck was not on his side today.

He was thrown into the back of the van. He was the hero of Nome. How was it possible that the human hadn't recognized him? Then he looked down at himself. He was covered in oil. He was no longer recognizable. And he had howled! He might as well have asked the human to lock him up.

The van started off.

Jenna awoke with a throbbing pain in her head. She was in the old mill.

She saw Maria sitting next to her.

"What happened?" She asked, her mind still hazy.

"Silver locked us up. He's going after Balto. Now the other dog's in town are on his side."

Jenna got up with a start. "He's not…""I doubt it. We're still in here. That means they haven't caught him yet."

Jenna sighed heavily. "I hope so."

"Don't worry. I'm sure he's far away from here by now."Balto banged on the cage latches. He wanted out. He had heard horror stories about how humans put dogs to sleep. He didn't want to end up like that.

The human came in. "Shut up! My boss is coming to inspect any minute now!"

Balto grinned. "Sure I'll be quiet." Sure enough the door opened. The human's boss walked in.

"Hey there Ted! How's the place?""Uh, fine boss!" He said nervously.

Balto suddenly started hurling his body at the bars. He howled in pain each time, adding to the noise.

"What the hell was that?" The man asked.

"Oh, uh…nothing. I heard nothing."

Balto turned up the volume.

"That dog sounds really pissed off!" The boss exclaimed.

"Actually that's a wolf."

The boss coughed. "What? A wolf?"

The man smiled. "Yep. A wolf. Wanna see him?""Sure!" The boss replied

The two walked into the kennel. The boss looked at Balto. He gasped. "You dumbass! That's Balto!"The grin disappeared from the man's face. "Balto?!"

"Yeah. Do you realize what will happen when the press finds out about this?"

The man shook his head. The boss grabbed him by the shirt.

"I'll be ruined! You know what that means?!"

The man shook his head again. "That means I'm gonna take you down with me!"

The man swallowed.

"Now get him the hell out of there!"

The man opened the cage. Balto growled at him then padded out.

The man breathed hard. "You don't think he'll go to the press, do you?"

The boss gave him a disgusted look.

Balto ran to the shore. He jumped into the water. He wanted all the oil off of him. Some of his stitches had come undone. He was in bad shape.

He stayed in the water until he was sure all the oil was off of him.

He padded onto the shore. The hairs on his neck stood up. He didn't need to look up.

"Silver."

"Balto."

The dog had been watching him the whole time and he had never noticed.

"Looks like you got me." Balto said weakly.

"You don't seem too scared." Silver snarled.

"I don't have enough energy in me to be scared. If you're going to kill me just do it."

"You heard him boy's. Kill him."

The other dog's hesitated. "Uh why? He's not a threat."

A look of irritation spread across Silver's face.

"You know, we have no solid proof that he did anything."

Silver turned. "Who said that?"

A dog stepped forward. "It was me." He said rather nervously.

Silver lashed out. He grabbed the dog by the throat. The dog gasped for air, then went limp.

A panicked look appeared on Silver's face. "Oh god." Silver turned and sprinted away. The dog's started after him.

"Don't." Balto said. "It's not worth it."

The dogs helped Balto to his paws. "Sorry we doubted you there."

Balto sighed. "It's okay. I just want to go home."

The other dogs nodded. Balto noticed the dog. "Is he dead?"

One of the dog's felt his pulse. "Still breathing."

"Good. Get him to the vets."

"What about you? You look like you could use a trip to the vets too."

"Just let me go home."


	6. Chapter 6

**Balto: How the Mighty Fall(part 6)**

Jenna stood listening next to the door. Maria was pacing the floor.

"You don't think he's…"

"You've been asking me that every ten minutes!" Jenna snapped.

"Sorry. It's just…I'm so sorry for all of this. I should have looked into your mates information more. I could have missed this iceberg."

"Yeah well…" Jenna paused.

"What?"

"Shh! There's someone outside!" She whispered.

The door shook. It opened. Someone familiar padded in.

"Balto!" Jenna said happily.

She seemed to notice the state Balto was in. "Did you get hit by a sled?"

Balto chuckled. "Feels that way."

Maria's look of happiness disappeared. "Where's Silver?"

"He's gone. He nearly killed a dog. He ran away looking pretty scared."

Maria started for the door. Balto stepped in the way. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I have to find him!" She said worriedly.

"No!" Balto said. "He'll come back soon. Just wait it out."

"If I just wait it out, he'll be frozen! It's a blizzard out there!"

Before Balto could stop her Maria had sprinted out into the snow.

"Oh boy." Balto groaned, too tired to chase after her.

The two dogs padded home.

Maria stumbled through the wilderness of Nome, trying to pick up Silver's scent. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She was being watched.

"Who's there? Silver?" She called nervously.

"Unfortunately not." A voice replied.

She froze. "What do you want?"

She noticed that several of the shadows around her had started moving.

"Why would we want anything my dear?" Another voice sneered.

"Stay back!" She cried.

"Why should we?"

They pounced on their prey.

Silver was shaking. He had killed a dog. He was a murderer. He was sitting in a small cave that he and the wolves were using.

He wondered for a second why he had gone into business with the wolves.

Suddenly the wolves returned from their hunt. They had with them the broken body of a husky. Silver gasped.

"Maria!"

"We saw her get murdered."

Silvers eyes filled with tears. "Who? Who was it?"

The wolf leader grinned. "Since you asked, it was our mutual friend. Balto."

Silver growled in rage. He smashed his paw into the cave wall. "Where the bloody hell is he?! I'll kill him myself this time!"

The wolf smirked. "He's in his home, sleeping like a baby. Should we take him out?"

Silver shook his head. "He still deserves a fair fight. I'll wait until tomorrow, then I'll kill him. And then I'll cut him up into little pieces!"

He looked into the lifeless eyes of his mate. "Maria." He sobbed.

"When?" The wolf asked.

"Tomorrow evening. We'll attack him. No mercy." He sighed. "Take out anyone that gets in the way."

The wolf sniggered. "Whatever you say."

Balto padded downstairs the next morning to find Jenna sitting next to the window. The human who owned Silver and Maria was pacing desperately.

"Where are they? They're not the kind to run away."

Balto padded up next to Jenna. He could see that she had gotten little sleep.

"Any sign of them?" He asked.

Jenna yawned. "No. Good afternoon Balto."

Balto realized just how long he had been asleep. It was 12:30 in the afternoon."I'm going to find them."

Jenna opened her mouth to protest but, realizing that Balto wouldn't change his mind, closed it.

"Maybe I should come too."

Balto shook his head. "Silver is too dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Jenna nodded. "Good luck."

Balto padded through the town. He had managed to pick up Silver's scent earlier but had lost it. Now he caught it again.

He sprinted off in the direction of the scent.

He saw him. Silver was ducking through the crowd of humans, trying to get away.

He entered a large building. Had Balto not been in such a hurry he would have noticed that it was the same warehouse that he had been tortured in.

"Silver!" He sprinted through the door. Suddenly something hard hit him in the face.

He looked up. Silver was standing over him. He kicked him. Balto yelped In pain.

"Silver! Maria is out looking for you!""Maria is dead!" He snarled, kicking Balto again.

Balto was shocked. "What?"

"Don't bloody lie! You killed her!"

"I didn't kill anyone!" Balto said, tasting blood in his mouth.

"Of course not. Innocent little Balto. Always being a perfect do gooder."

He kicked again. Balto yelped again.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Balto screamed. "What did I ever do to you?"

Silver chuckled. "Have I not explained it to you?! You killed the love of my life!"Balto coughed up blood. "I didn't kill her. But I think I know who did."

Silver paused. "Who?!" "Those friends of yours. Why did you attack me for being part wolf when they are all wolf?""They're better than you. You want to be a hero. You want power."Balto laughed. "Is that what this is all about. You think I brought back the medicine so I could be a hero?! I don't want to be hero! The only reason I brought that medicine back is because I give a damn about the people in this town. And that's saying a lot considering that the people in this town didn't give a damn about me!" He sighed. "Which is the better of us Silver? Because every time you beat me, you're just digging yourself a deeper hole."

Silver paused. He was starting to think straight. His thoughts were distracted by the sound of a door slamming open. He turned. The wolves had arrived.

"Well, when does the killing start?" The lead wolf sneered.

Outside a hunter had seen the wolves go in. He had headed for the tavern.

"Hey boys! I think I just found a solution to the towns wolf problem!"

His friends looked at him. "How?"

"I found a big group of them! Who wants to flush em out?"

A large group of humans in the bar grabbed their rifles. "Lets kick some wolf ass!"

"There will be no killing." Silver said.

The lead wolf looked shocked. "What?"

"He's innocent. He will be returned to his family. I will face the consequences for my actions. And so will you."

The lead wolf grinned. "Nah."

Silver turned to him. "What?"

"I want to kill him!" The wolf whined.

"If you lay a paw on him you're dead." Silver snarled.

The wolf still had a shocked expression on his face. "What did we do to lose your faith?"

"You killed my mate." Silver said, in barely contained rage.

"Well you have a point. We did kill her. She would have been a distraction."

Silver growled. The wolf looked amused. "Why don't you kill me?"

Silver calmed down. "I have enough blood on my hands."

"Good. Then you won't stop us." Suddenly the wolves pounced on Balto.

Balto howled as the wolves scratched and clawed at him.

Suddenly Silver pounced. He grabbed one of the wolves by the tail and threw him into the wall. He pulled the other wolves off of Balto.

The lead wolf was thrown against a stack of boxes. He got up snarling in rage."You're a dead dog!" He lunged at Silver. The fight lasted only a few seconds. Silver refused to fight back. The lead wolf bit into Silver's stomach. He cried out in pain, then fell to the ground.

"C'mon boys! Let's beat it!" The wolves ran to the door.

They found a group of hunters standing at the entrance, holding rifles.

"Put em down boys!" One of the hunters yelled. They opened fire. Multiple wolves fell to the ground dead. The lead wolf managed to weave through them. He didn't get far. A hunter fired a bullet. It hit him in the ear. The next shot hit him in the jaw. He howled in pain. He was alive. He kept on running.

"You'll regret that!" He cried with great pain. He ran off into the night.

Balto got up. He had been scratched multiple times, but was okay. He looked over at Silver. He was breathing. He padded over to him.

"Silver? Are you okay?" Balto asked.

Silver coughed. Balto saw blood streaming out of his mouth.

"You…you saved my life."

Silver smiled painfully. "Consider it heroes courtesy."

Balto opened his mouth to object, but Silver stopped him.

"Don't give me that crap. You're a hero Balto. The world could use more dogs like you. And wolves."

Balto noticed he was crying. "Silver we can get you to the vets…"

"No. I killed someone. I deserve this."

Balto shook his head. "He's not dead. He was just hurt."

Silver smiled, then coughed up more blood. "Bye Balto. It has been…life changing…knowing you." Silver went limp.

Balto stared at the dog's lifeless eyes. "Goodbye hero."

Suddenly the door bashed in. The hunters swarmed the warehouse.

One of them saw him standing over Silver's body. He stood open mouthed. Balto started padding towards him.

The man raised his rifle. "God forgive me." Balto saw him go for the trigger.

He ducked. The bullet went over his head. He sprinted for the door. The man fired three more shots. The other hunters joined in. He heard five gunshots behind him. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his leg. He stumbled forward. Then he rolled down a hill. He was desperate to get away.

The hunters watched him. One of them spoke. "Was that…Balto?"

The other one nodded. "May god help us."

"He killed that other dog?" The man nodded again.

"We have to warn everyone."

The man nodded again, still not speaking.

Balto stumbled aboard the boat. "B…Boris." He called.

The old goose waddled toward him. "Boychik vhat happened?"

Balto lay down. He was sobbing. "Silver's dead."

Boris looked relieved. "Good riddance. Zat dog vas nothing but trouble."

"Boris…they think…I did it."

Boris coughed. "Vhat?! Zey tink you did zis?"

"They're after me Boris. They shot at me."

"Okay calm down. I am sure you can straighten zis out."

"How? I don't speak human!" Balto slumped. "I have to run."

"Vhat?"

"Boris. I have to run away. I can't stay here. They think I'm rabid, or crazy or something."

Boris sighed. "So zis is goodbye."

Balto smiled as best he could. "I'll see you again someday, Boris."

Balto licked Boris on the head. "Goodbye Boris."

Balto padded down the ramp in the direction of town.

Boris watched him run off. "Goodbye kiddo."

There were armed policemen all over town. Balto was a wanted wolf. He might never see this town again.

He arrived at Jenna's doorstep. He made a light scratching on the door. Jenna came. "Balto! Usually you just come right in. What's wrong?"

"Silvers dead. And the humans think I did it."

Jenna gasped. "They can't possibly believe that!"

"They saw me standing over his dead body."

Jenna sighed. "You can stay here."

Balto shook his head. "I have to leave. The hunters will kill me. Rosie's father probably has already heard about it."

Balto saw the tears streaming down Jenna's face. He wiped them away.

"It'll be alright. I can find some place to stay. Once they take a closer look at the wound, they'll see that it wasn't me. I'll be back."

Jenna shook her head. "It's not fair! We never even wanted any of this! Now you have to leave?"

"Jenna, I'll visit anytime I can. I'll see you again soon." He realized he was crying too. "Then we can raise a family."Jenna nodded. They nuzzled.

Balto smiled. "Stay beautiful."

And with that he turned and ran off into the night.


End file.
